As I read, I kept
feeling grateful
to Paul Tough for having done this work — gathering the stories of kids like Keitha Jones, the traumatized Southside Chicago
teen who reminded me so much of a handful of kids I've taught;
connecting Keitha's experience
to research on neurochemistry and infant psychology, and situating these elements in both a socio - economic context and in the landscape of an education world focused on developing children's cognitive (and testable) skills.